We hadn’t heard of Peruvian Roast Chicken until a few months ago when we went to Pio Pio. We heard it served some type of amazing rotisserie chicken. Everyone we knew who had been to the place loved it. And we were told to ask for the “green sauce.” It’s got to be pretty good when it’s the only thing served at the restaurant. Dan and I were actually in Peru a few years ago and didn’t notice Peruvian roast chicken. I suppose for them, it just regular roast chicken?

But anyway, we went to Pio Pio, it actually was pretty good. It was a simple rotisserie chicken that had these great aromatic spices. And the green sauce was a creamy, cilantro, spicy dipping sauce. Since we’ve been let in on this secret, it seems like Peruvian Roast Chicken has been popping up everywhere – on Serious Eats and countless other blogs. And for good reason. It’s delicious and a good variation on the traditional roast chicken. It’s a little prep for a lot of flavor!

Directions

Mix together the marinade ingredients.

Place the whole chicken into a large (about 2 gallon size) ziploc bag and pour in the marinade.

Spread the marinade so that it covers all the chicken.

Marinade overnight.

Take the chicken out of the fridge about 30-45 minutes before you roast it, so it comes closer to room temperature. This helps the chicken become more moist and cooked evenly.

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Remove the chicken from the marinate and brush off any garlic so it will not burn.

Lay the chicken breast side up in a roasting pan or cast iron skillet.

Truss the chicken. This keeps the juices in during the roasting and makes the meat more tender.

Cook’s Notes

We used a combination of regular white vinegar and red wine vinegar because I wanted a bit of sweetness from the latter. Feel free to use either one or a combination of these two. I wouldn’t use balsamic vinegar because it might be too overpowering.